Slick roads cause accidents across Davidson County

Friday

Jan 25, 2013 at 4:59 AMJan 25, 2013 at 7:23 PM

A brief period of wintry weather Friday led to dozens of accidents on icy roads throughout Davidson County.

BY NASH DUNNThe Dispatch

A brief period of wintry weather Friday led to dozens of accidents on icy roads throughout Davidson County.A winter weather advisory has been extended to 11 a.m. Saturday, though there is no precipitation in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service. The high Saturday is expected to reach degrees; the low 21 degrees. Light snow and sleet began accumulating on most secondary roads and some major highways by noon Friday, leading to slippery roads and numerous reports of wrecks, including overturned vehicles. The N.C. Highway Patrol responded to more than 50 accidents throughout the day Friday, said Pam Kearns, spokeswoman for the N.C. Highway Patrol office in Lexington. There were no major injuries reported as of about 3 p.m. Friday, Kearns said.Accidents were occurring throughout the county.A school bus from Stoner-Thomas School was involved in a minor accident on Becks Church Road when a vehicle slid into a mail carrier's vehicle, which then hit the bus, but only property damage was reported and no injuries, said Dr. Fred Mock, Davidson County Schools superintendent.Most of the accidents occurred on rural roads, Kearns said. Most accidents were also attributed to drivers traveling too fast, she added.The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory all day Friday for much of central North Carolina, including Davidson County. About 0.08 inches of rain was recorded at the Davidson County Airport by Friday afternoon. The precipitation started about 9 a.m., mostly tapered off by about 9:45 then resumed with some light sleet. Frozen precipitation started again about 1:20 p.m. and ended by about 4 p.m. Mark Crook, Davidson County's maintenance engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation, said crews started seeing accumulations on the highways about 1:30 p.m. Crews were on hand all day and night to deal with any accumulation on the roadways. Crook said the DOT was able to apply more brine treatment near a construction zone on Interstate 85 Friday morning, one of the key areas it was worried about.The DOT had about 56 department and contract trucks on the roadways, Crook said. At least some of the trucks worked through the night and into the morning Saturday, he said.Officials with the City of Lexington's Street Department said brine treatment was very effective on main roads Friday morning and into the afternoon. Thomasville Street Superintendent Jay Weaver also said the brine treatment did its job.The wintry weather forced the three school systems to dismiss by 11 a.m.Davidson County Schools released elementary students on buses and high school student drivers at 9:45 a.m., said Dr. Fred Mock, Davidson County Schools superintendent. Administrators authorized high school and middle school principals to release students at 10:15 a.m., Mock said.Lexington City Schools released elementary school students at 10 a.m. and middle school and high school students at 11 a.m., said Earl Kendall, assistant system superintendent. All afterschool activities were canceled.Thomasville City Schools released primary and elementary school students at 10:30 a.m. Middle and high school students were released at 11 a.m., according to a system administrator.The school systems had previously planned to close three hours early.Davidson County Government and the court system closed at noon.

Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or atnash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.

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